DNIPROPETROVSK – The industrial powerhouse that has produced most of Ukraine's recent leaders would like to make one thing perfectly clear.
The men who rose through the ranks of Dnipropetrovsk's machine politics to claim the plushest offices in Kyiv may be sons, but they are not favorite sons.
If politicians like Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko and former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko should come looking for support on their native soil for the Popular Democratic Party and Hromada respectively, they will have come to the wrong place.
The current government is no more popular here than elsewhere. 'It's their fault the country is in such terrible shape,' said Dnipropetrovsk pensioner Tamara Sharapova. 'And now they want us to vote for them?' The man who led the previous cabinet is, if anything, liked even less. 'The guy is a complete crook. He builds himself a dacha in Switzerland, he lives in a government palace, and he thinks people will vote for him? He's the most corrupt one of them all,' says Vladimir, an unemployed steel worker who would not give his last name. He is only repeating what Pustovoitenko and his allies have been saying about Lazarenko for months. The ex-premier has dismissed a criminal probe of his activities as a smear, and has struck back with allegations of his own against Pustovoitenko and Co.
For all that enmity, the political clans that have put this city of 1.2 million on the world map have issued strikingly similar appeals to voters not to rock the boat. 'Trust in experience,' enjoins a 20-meter-long billboard festooned with blue-and-yellow flags that add a splash of color to an industrial neighborhood. 'Vote for experience! Vote PDP!'
Larisa Trofimenko, a Hromada candidate in the 26th election district, uses much the same argument in a television address. 'Vote for the professionals, vote for Hromada,' she asks.
Given the state of the economy and the mood of the electorate, such appeals might not be a great idea. And while Hromada and the PDP plead for trust while trading body blows in a war of attrition, a new generation of industrial managers is getting ready to take over. And they are willing to let voters compare their record to those of the incumbents.
'These elections are decisive,' says Viktor Pinchuk, who's running against Trofimenko and 15 other candidates in the 26th election district. 'The third millennium is beginning and the country cannot withstand another Parliament like the last one. We will not have a second chance.' As director of a massive steel pipe-rolling concern, Pinchuk carries authority in Dnipropetrovsk. His company, Dniprotrub, is a big exporter. It employs thousands of locals and, what's more, pays them regularly, a feat that Pinchuk eagerly contrasts with the government's performance.
'We will have no payment of late salaries or pensions until industry in the country begins working,' Pinchuk declares during a debate with other Rada hopefuls. 'The government has not been able to do that for four years. It is as simple as that.'
Dniprotrub's young, mustachioed director fits the stereotype of the New Ukrainian industrial baron: pragmatic, direct, well-dressed, result-oriented and unwilling to be associated with the current government. His program is as tailor-made to fit him as his suit. Aside from boilerplate commitments to fight corruption and help the poor, it features corporate tax cuts, selective government protection and a program to employ more youth. As far as Pinchuk is concerned, he has all the experience he needs. 'Vote for the one who you think will be the best manager,' he advised voters at the conclusion of the debate.
To do that, the 26th district's voters would have to scrutinize the balance sheets of several local concerns. Among the magnates who have chucked their fur hats into the ring are Yury Kuperman (telecoms), Aleksei Lysenko (banking) and Viktor Valerianikov, who has made it big as the director of the Pridneprovsky Meat and Dairy Combine. 'Many other candidates make promises about what they will do in the next two years,' said the latter. 'I have already done it – built two factories, created over 1,000 jobs.' Voters who think Ukrainian industrialists as a whole have not performed much better than Ukrainian politicians can always opt for nominees of national parties. They may be untried, but that also means they have not disappointed. Rukh, the Communists, and the Greens have managed to recruit, if not a viable candidate then at least well-intentioned warm body, in each of the five local districts.
'My party asked me to run, so here I am,' said Valentin Milaev, the Greens' nominee in the 24th election district. 'I have no political ambitions myself.'
With anywhere from 17 to 25 captains of industry, incumbent old boys and issue candidates contesting each Rada seat, Dnipropetrovsk's voters face a cornucopia of choices. Most don't find any of them all that appetizing. 'I have nothing to do with politics,' said Elena Savchuk, a 21-year-old translator for a Saab distributor. 'These elections have nothing to do with me.'
Those that intend to vote are either already retired or close to it, most analysts believe. At the candidate debate held inside a school auditorium, most attendees wanted to know what they have to gain from this balloting. Some had already made a decision. 'We need a man who can give people work,' said unemployed steel mill worker Konstantin Ogorodov. 'That's why I'm for Pinchuk.' But even the converted don't expect miracles. 'Lazarenko had such a nice greeting to women for March 8,' said pensioner Lilia Bolotko. 'I'm going to vote for him, but I don't expect anything to change.'
Communist candidate Evgenii Postashov drew mixed responses from the retirement-age crowd.
'We must return to a planned economy and stop privatization,' he declared.
'Right! Good fellow!' shouted a woman in a flowery kerchief and heavy coat. 'That's what we need, real Communists!' 'I remember you ComParty guys,' yelled a white-haired man as he shook his fist. 'We let you back in, how long before we see the gulag?'
Probably about as long as it would take to pay back late wages, rebuild industry, end corruption and fulfill all of the other promises made on one night in one Ukrainian auditorium.
